Location: Near a frozen river within the forest.
Time: Day 13 (Noon).They encountered a different kind of beast. A Shadow Bear, Rank D, but twice its normal size.Garek and Elara attacked it together, but the bear's hide was unnaturally hard. Their swords bounced off harmlessly."Its skin is resistant to magic!" Elara cried out.Lirion stepped forward. He activated Truth Sight (5 seconds remaining for the day).He looked at the bear. He saw the natural flow of mana through its body... but in its chest, he spotted a black knot where mana didn't flow, but was instead absorbed."In its chest," Lirion said. "There is something absorbing your energy."Lirion gathered his mana into a single strike. He drew the circuit, but this time, he added a "discharge charge" at the end."Pierce!"The blue spear shot forward. It struck the bear's chest. A small explosion of ice erupted.The bear fell dead.Lirion approached the corpse. Using a knife, he carefully sliced open the beast's chest.Between the ribs, he did not find a natural organ. Instead, he found a black glass shard embedded in the flesh, connected to the nerves by tiny artificial veins."What is this?" Rowan asked, terrified.Lirion picked up the shard. It pulsed with a faint red light.[System Alert: Biological Interference Device Detected.]
[Analysis: This device artificially increases the monster's aggression and hardens its skin.]
[Manufacturing Origin: Not native to the world of Elthria.]Lirion's eyes darkened. "This isn't a natural beast. It's modified."He hid the shard in his insulated pouch. "Don't tell anyone. Not yet."He realized the festival was no longer a game. Someone was experimenting in this forest.